Multiple StackExchange Accounts For Anonimity

Question

Similar to how authors use pen names, is it ok (does not violate TOS) to create multiple accounts sometimes spanning the same StackExchange site?

The goal here is to psuedo-unlink various questions/answers a user posts. This would be useful for mitigating socially engineering attacks.

For instance, if I say in an InfoSec.sx question that I am a sysadmin and have an addiction to cherry filled danishes in a health.sx post I would like to have two separate accounts to limit the exposure while still maintaining links to all of my asked questions (just compartmentalised) to protect against someone snooping on my profile and showing up the next day at my work with donuts (I realized this is an exaggerated example, but the threat itself remains).

update: Another example on the same site, would be a sysadmin answering 'how best to secure wifi' while also asking 'how is an ad-hoc wifi connection insecure?' an attacker could potentially target sysadmin's network more effectively (once again, oversimplified example).

Assuming you do not abuse the system (creating sock-puppets all over), is this allowed? Is there a better method?

As an aside (I've created a feature request for this here), would it be beneficial to have an option where users can 'hide' things on their profile's page -for instance, specific questions they've asked?

Answer 1

It is very straightforward to use different accounts on different sites : simply use different email addresses. You can decide whether you want them linked or not.

For the case that you want to have unconnected accounts on the same site, you can do this, however you cannot allow the interaction between them to gain you any benefits. 'Sock Puppets' are seriously frowned upon on Stack Exchange, and in fact the sock detection tools are very effective at finding them and deleting them, as are members of the community.

That said, as long as you do not let the two accounts interact with each other, there is no ethical problem here, and we do indeed have members who do exactly this, using different accounts for different purposes.

And of course your fall back position is to use an anonymous account - you can link it at a later date if you want.

As for your final sentence - that would be a separate feature request.

Answer 2

To complete @Rory's answer: what is frowned upon is the specific action of sock-puppeting, where you have multiple accounts on the same site and you abuse the "game rules" with the coordinated action of these multiple accounts. As the powers-that-be on SE say it, it is OK to have multiple accounts as long as "they don't vote for each other, and they don't vote for the same thing". To be really separate, you may also refrain from voting with one account on a question where another of your accounts provided an answer, though that case would not be deemed sock-puppeting.

An important corollary is that sock-puppet detection systems won't be triggered if you behave "ethically", since they concentrate on vote-related actions.

If you do maintain several accounts on a single site, then it is simpler never to vote with any of the "secondary" accounts.

On distinct SE sites, do as you wish. You can keep them as separate as you want to.